Appreciations

January 3, 2007 marked the fifth death anniversary of Rohan Hapugalle, a gifted and noble son of Mother Lanka.

I had known “Uncle Rohan” for many years. He had many great qualities. Despite the high positions he held in Rotary, Jaycees and the corporate world of industry and commerce, he never lost the common touch. This was the greatest quality he possessed and I admired him for that. He left an indelible mark, in the corporate and social fraternity of Mother Lanka, and was loved by all and sundry and the scores of people, from all walks of life, who came for his funeral, bore ample testimony to this.

A few of his multi faceted activities that come to my mind, are that he became the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Jaycees Senate, District Governor of the Rotary Club of Colombo, Vice Chairman of the National Chamber of Commerce, and President of the Sri Lanka India Society. Even now, in these organizations and other institutions Uncle Rohan is still remembered.

An example of his humane qualities which I remember vividly was when I attended the funeral of a fellow Jaycee friend of mine, who died under tragic circumstances, I was surprised to see, among many friends, Uncle Rohan, a senior Jaycee attending the funeral of a junior colleague. I asked him, what made him come for the funeral. He immediately replied, “It was my duty to come and pay my respects to a fellow colleague, although I didn’t know him personally.”

Another noble quality he possessed was that it went against his grain to speak ill of anyone. He would say, “let’s forgive and forget”. This speaks volumes for his character and integrity. It is my earnest hope and prayer, that Uncle Rohan’s acts of nobility and sincerity, and his humane qualities, be a living example for the future generations.

May Uncle Rohan’s soul rest in eternal peace, and may he attain the supreme bliss of eternal happiness, peace and the blessings of the Triple Gem, in the world beyond.